As John said, With proper gain settings, and with proper voice projection,
you can work a desk mic from a foot away with very little if any room echo.

Most desk microphones have better fidelity, that is frequency response, than
do hand held microphones.

If you have ever looked at the Heil Sound web page, Bob Heil is absolutely
correct when he says that the best installation is a microphone which is
shock mounted on a boom. That way, you get very little table noise, plus you
can swing the mic very close, even when sitting back in the operating chair.

Like most amateurs, I don't have that perfect set-up yet. However, I too
have a 444 which I bought new in 1980. It's the best overall microphone I
have ever used. For many years, Tentec, Swan, and Motorola all sold the 444
with their respective name plates attached as their base station microphone.

Here's one more thought. You didn't say whether or not your 444 has the
preamp built into it. If it does, run the preamp as low as possible, and let
the rig handle the gain.

If it doesn't have the preamp, you already know that the preamp is not
needed for most rigs.

Mike Duke, K5XU